


Your Majesty

by yumetourou



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: M/M, Napink, PanWink - Freeform, Winkdeep, alternate dimension au some people wanted, innocent!jinyoung, prince!jinyoung, slowburn?, sorry (but not really), student!jihoon, winkdeep agenda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-05-01 13:28:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14521572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yumetourou/pseuds/yumetourou
Summary: A simple rainy day can turn into so much more.





	1. A Series of Bad Days

Jihoon jolted awake. He looked at the clock, 8:57 am. He had overslept again. He threw on his yellow uniform and ran a comb through his hair, skipping breakfast to make sure he didn't miss too much of his first period literature class. This had become too much of a habit. He was lucky he lived on his own, or else he would be grounded for six out of seven days every week. Not that he did much that required leaving the house, but on the off chance that he did he would rather not be grounded. Taking his mind off his rather lonely home life, he brought his attention to the issue at hand: The weather. It was currently cloudy, looking vaguely like it would rain in the near future. Jihoon frantically searched for his umbrella before remembering that he had lost it the last time it rained. Well, whatever, a little water wouldn't hurt him.

After nearly getting hit by a car, Jihoon arrived at his first period class with 20 minutes to spare. He would just get the notes from his desk partner, Woojin, after school or something. Near the end of the class, the teacher passed out mark sheets. Upon receiving his, Jihoon quickly folded it and stuffed it in his bag. At least he wasn't failing. Woojin still noticed, and immediately began poking fun at him.

"It's your fault for always showing up late anyways."

"Shut up."

"Give me a dollar and I will." Jihoon fished in his bag for the coin and handed it to Woojin. He was probably off to get a cookie or some other sweet from the cafeteria. Jihoon watched the other boy run off and join his group of friends. Jihoon contemplated joining them, but like every other day he decided against it. Despite somehow ending up with four out of five classes with Woojin, Jihoon was never more than a simple acquaintance that Woojin occasionally poked fun at. Jihoon didn't mind, he was content being alone anyways. He wasn't in school to make friends, he just needed to get through. Grades didn't particularly matter to him, as long as he passed he was fine. He eventually came back to reality and noticed that he was the only one left in the classroom. He quietly stepped into the hallway and made his way to his next class.

Unlucky was Jihoon's word of the day. He got put as keeper for the soccer scrimmages in phys ed, and he got hit in the face more times than he could remember. His only luck in said situation was that his classmates were not the strongest of kickers. After his disastrous 10 minutes in net, the teacher eventually pulled him. Jihoon laid in the grass on the sidelines, staring at the blanket of grey that was the sky. He closed his eyes and let the cool spring breeze blow over him, eventually drifting off to sleep. He woke up about 20 minutes later when a stray ball flew in his direction and hit him where no high school age boy wanted to be hit. He heard a faint (and insincere) apology from the nearby field.

Feeling defeated, Jihoon considered faking sick so he could leave early. Then he remembered the math test. He took the whole hour and left the test unfinished, but he would have failed no matter what. His bad day was only getting worse. Finally it was lunch and he could rest. He went outside to his favourite place to eat, the old bleachers. He couldn't figure out why the school replaced them, there didn't appear to be anything wrong with them. But, instead of being used for spectators at sports games, they sat at the side of the school. Jihoon made his way to the top seat and dug in his bag for his lunch. After five minutes of searching with no resulting food, Jihoon concluded that in his mad dash that morning he had forgotten it. He sighed in defeat and laid back on the cool metal. Again, he let the spring breeze blow over him as he drifted off to sleep.

Jihoon ended up sleeping through his fourth and fifth period classes. He doubted he missed much, and again he could just get the notes from Woojin. During his nap, however, it had started raining. Jihoon woke up and his clothes were soaked through. He cursed at himself for not noticing, now he would get a cold. He sleepily sat up and began the rainy and drowsy walk home. Talk about a bad day.

When he arrived at his house, the rain had chilled him to the bone. He tossed a blanket into the dryer to warm it up as he changed out of his wet clothes into pajamas. He swapped his uniform for the blanket in the dryer and stared out the window. It seemed it would rain all evening, and that it did. Jihoon moped around the living room in his blanket cocoon. After five minutes of moping he grew bored and flopped onto the couch, turning on the TV. Nothing caught his interest, so he settled for the weather channel. According to the reports, it would rain all through the night and into the next day. Jihoon groaned in annoyance. He loved spring, but the constant rain really dampened his mood (pun intended). He took a quick nap on the couch, and woke up cold. He looked for the source of the chilliness and glared at the open window. After closing it he took a hot shower, letting the steam and water bring the feeling back into his hands. He toweled himself off and wandered into the kitchen. He didn't have the energy to cook, so he microwaved some chicken flavour cup noodles and settled in front of the television; the weather channel still playing. After his meal, he fell asleep on the couch and didn't wake up until the next morning.

-

For the second morning in a row, Jihoon overslept. Repeating yesterday's rush, he again skipped breakfast and ran to the school. Upon his arrival Woojin gave him a look that seemed to say "told you so." Jihoon slammed a dollar on the desk before Woojin even had a chance to open his mouth. He was  _not_ in the mood for this today. Surprisingly, he had made it in good time and managed to sit through most of the lecture that hour. After class, Jihoon checked his locker. He hadn't really checked it in months, he just carried his books with him. The weight of them was causing the straps on his bag to tear at the seams, but his locker was too far from any of his classes to be a convenience. When he got to it, he noticed a pink sticky note stuck to the front.

Jihoon didn't have friends, but that didn't mean that he wasn't short of admirers. It had been a while since this had last happened, people eventually learnt that he had no interest in dating anyone currently. Unfortunately for whoever this poor soul was, they hadn't gotten the memo. So here Jihoon was, standing on the rooftop preparing to reject someone again. Whoever it was was taking their sweet time, it was still raining and Jihoon wanted to get this over with. Eventually a tall, dark haired boy showed up. Jihoon recognized him as the newer exchange student, Guanlin. There was a certain innocence about him, and Jihoon almost felt bad for having to reject him.  _Almost_. He decided to at least hear him out.

"Jihoon - wait, can I call you that?" Jihoon nodded and Guanlin took his hands eagerly. "I-I really like you... and I was hoping we could spend more time together and I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me?" The last part came out in a rush. Jihoon felt Guanlin's hands grow sweaty. The taller boy stared at the ground beneath them, red as a tomato.

"Guanlin, I'm flattered," Guanlin turned redder when Jihoon said his name. "but I'm not interested in dating anyone right now, so I'm going to have to say no. I'm sorry." Guanlin looked defeated, but almost as if he had been expecting Jihoon's rejection.

"Yeah, okay, that's okay. But one more thing before I go." Jihoon gave him an inquisitive look. "C-can I kiss you?"

This was definitely a first. People usually got mad, or cried, or asked for a date, but never a kiss. Jihoon had never kissed anyone before. Was he really about to give up his first kiss to some random boy on a rooftop in the rain? Jihoon weighed his options. He did feel bad for Guanlin, and he had to admit the kid was kind of cute. The only real risk was his reputation for constantly rejecting people changing and him getting a few more confessions. It was a bother having to go up to the rooftop just to let them down, but Guanlin really did seem too innocent to hurt too badly. Jihoon nodded and Guanlin practically jumped in surprise.

Guanlin didn't kiss like Jihoon had expected him to. Jihoon anticipated it would be awkward and quick, and in the beginning it was. But Guanlin quickly gained some sort of confidence and he kissed Jihoon like his life depended on it, holding the smaller boy close. Jihoon may have been uninterested but he wasn't THAT much of an asshole, and he returned the gesture but with less enthusiasm. In fact, Jihoon would have described himself as more awkward than Guanlin in their present situation. Guanlin was a good kisser, yet Jihoon couldn't bring himself to return the feelings, and that was where he was an asshole. Guanlin pulled away and thanked Jihoon before running back into the school, leaving a flustered Jihoon alone in the rain.

Due to the rain, Jihoon's phys ed class was limited to classroom assignments on how muscles functioned. He sat down (late) beside his ever present and annoying desk partner in all their shared classes, Woojin. He was subject to nudging from Woojin until he gave in to the other boy's questions. 

"Heard you made out with the exchange student." Woojin wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Did not. He confessed to me and I said no. Then he kissed me. End of story."

"Is the notorious Park Rejector getting feelings for someone?"

"No. He's cute but he's not my type."

"And what is your type?"

"My fist connecting with your face if you don't stop talking." That shut Woojin up.

Jihoon's incident with Guanlin quickly became the talk of the school. Jihoon was more surprised that people knew who he was then by the spread of gossip. As he walked down the halls he was subject to random strangers making kissy faces at him. And he had thought today wouldn't be as bad as the previous day. He got his math test from yesterday back, and he managed to get a 49. Just below passing. He sighed in defeat. He couldn't eat his lunch outside that day so he sat in the theatre, realizing he forgot his lunch for the second day in a row. Maybe he was cursed. His last two classes went by in a blur, if you had asked him to describe them to you he honestly wouldn't be able to. His focus was elsewhere, somewhere off in another world. He found himself wishing that his body could join his mind in another world.

When the last bell finally rang, Jihoon had never been more eager to walk home. It was still raining but he didn't give a damn, as long as he could leave school for the day he was happy. He practically shot out of the front doors, which was uncharacteristic of him. He wasn't known to run anywhere unless he was late.  He slowed his pace to a regular walk, and the downpour had finally slowed to a light sprinkle. He closed his eyes and let the spring breeze blow through his hair, it was still slightly damp from standing on the rooftop. He opened his eyes and continued walking, crossing the street was not safe with one's eyes closed even if he heard no cars coming. Jihoon tried his best to avoid the large puddles from the rain, but some were of a size that could not be avoided. Unfortunately, not only did it rain, but the temperature had dropped below freezing, causing some ice underneath the water of the larger puddles. Jihoon was unaware of this. As he trudged through a puddle, he slipped on some of the hidden ice and fell, hitting his head. Everything went black.

When Jihoon woke up, it seemed that he was in another world.

 

 


	2. Another World

Jihoon rubbed his head and took in his surroundings. He was sitting in a puddle in an open field, definitely not the sidewalk he remembered falling on. The sun was bright but there was a warm breeze, and the colours seemed slightly more saturated than they regularly would be (though that could be Jihoon's eyes playing tricks on him). Overall, everything was a stark contrast to the weather of the past two days. Jihoon rose to his feet and sat on a nearby rock. He had to find his way back home, wherever that was. He pulled out his phone and was surprised that he got service. He checked Google Maps in hopes to find his location and directions back home, but the app kept crashing. When he finally got it open and stable, it was all jumbled. It looked like coding, or another language. Maybe it was from the water. But, everything else seemed to be working fine, even making calls. Jihoon settled on the conclusion that he probably hit his head too hard and was having some sort of comatose dream, his unconscious body laying in a puddle on the side of the road. He didn't have a change of clothes this time around, so he stayed where he was and hoped the breeze and sun would dry his wet uniform. Even if he was dreaming, being sick would suck. Especially now that he was in some sort of fantasyland (what else could it be?). Once he deemed his clothes sufficiently dry for exploration, he slid off the rock and wandered in whatever direction he pleased. He read somewhere once that if you die in a dream, your body force wakes you up because seeing yourself die could cause problems in the real world. Staying alive wasn't a primary concern here, so Jihoon let himself explore wherever he pleased. He did however take the precaution of wearing a protective mask, taking care not to catch a cold.

Jihoon decided to check out a nearby forest. He didn't bother marking his pathway behind him, he was sure he would wake up soon anyways. He didn't know anything about trees, but these weren't any kind he had seen before. The leaves were a very dark green, and had an odd shape to them, like perfect circles. They also had a slight shine to them, almost as if they had been coated in a very fine glitter. It looked slightly magical if Jihoon were being honest, but he would never tell anyone he thought that. He heard a noise behind him and turned around, but nothing was there. Probably just birds, or his imagination. Could you imagine something in a dream? He went to look it up, but before he got the chance to do so something caught his eye. The date read May fifth, but the last day he remembered was May third. He brushed it off as one of those weird dream things, but it still remained in the back of his mind. He shoved his phone back in his pocket, forgetting about what he had intended to look up.

Jihoon found the forest pretty but simple, there was mostly just trees and the occasional bird. He never even got to see the birds, he just heard them rustling the leaves behind him. The sun remained high in the sky, despite it being hours since he had first woken up in the puddle. Time didn't really matter in dreams though. He found his way back to the field, not sure if he was where he started. Everything looked the same. He stared into the horizon in the distance, and thought he could see buildings of some sort. A town? He was intrigued, but decided against checking it out. What if there were dangerous people there and his body didn't wake him up before he died in dream? He shuddered at the thought. He assumed he had to have hit his head quite hard for his mind to come up with a dream this realistic. He even felt the chill that came when he felt an oncoming cold, probably due to the fact that he laid, unconscious, in a puddle for two dream days. The most shelter that he could make out that wasn't too far to walk were some large rocks, hopefully the same ones from earlier. They were also by a large puddle, but Jihoon couldn't be sure it was  _his_ puddle. It didn't really matter anyways, all puddles looked the same in the end.  The sun began to set, and fast. Much faster than Jihoon was used to. Within 20 minutes it was pitch black, but the sky was filled with stars. So many stars. Living in a city, Jihoon usually never got to see the stars. The lights contaminated the sky. He sat with his back against the rocks and watched them flicker and sparkle against the dark night sky. He would gladly stay in dreamland if he got to see this view every night. The breeze picked up and ruffled his hair, causing him to shiver slightly. This really was a vivid dream. He wondered how long it would last. Maybe he would never wake up. Part of him hoped he could stay here forever.

-

Jihoon fell asleep in a crevice between two rocks. He didn't know it was possible to dream within a dream, yet he dreamt of Guanlin. He dreamt that instead of birds behind him in the glittery trees with round leaves, it was Guanlin who had somehow followed him into dreamland. He dreamt that Guanlin needed to tell him something, but every time he got the courage to approach Jihoon he rustled the leaves and ended up hiding when Jihoon turned to find the source of the noise. Jihoon awoke with a start.  _What kind of weird dream was that?_ But it wasn't the odd dream that had caused his sudden awakening. Subconsciously, he had felt someone watching him. He rolled out from in between the rocks. Standing up, he let his eyes adjust to the darkness before trying to make anything out. He couldn't identify any immediate signs that someone had been nearby, so he concluded that his mind was playing tricks on him again. He crawled back in between the rocks, falling asleep. He could hear the birds rustling the leaves again, the sounds calming his nerves.

-

The young prince hid behind a tree. He watched the stranger appear from in between the rocks. Whoever it was rose to their full height, and the young prince watched intently. The stranger seemed to search for someone, or something (the young prince did not realize that the stranger was searching for him). He hadn't expected the stranger to wake so easily, the young prince just wanted to get a better look at their face. It had been covered with a mask since they appeared in the forest. It had been years since the young prince had met anyone new, and he was intrigued by this new stranger. But, he was also scared. His father had told him not to speak to anyone near his age - except his betrothed, Princess Jieqiong of the nearby Kingdom of China. Her father had wanted the two warring countries to cease fighting, and thought that the princess and the young prince marrying would bring unity and peace after centuries of hostilities. The young prince had no issues with Miss Jieqiong, but he wanted a friend his age and this new stranger looked about his age. He watched as the stranger gave up their search and retired to the rocks. The young prince slowly stepped out from behind the tree, rustling the leaves by accident as he passed by a low hanging branch. He knew his father would not be pleased by his breaking curfew. He rushed back to his castle, thoughts of the new stranger filling his mind. He had been watching since they had entered the forest, where the young prince had been practicing his marksmanship in the trees. The odd yellow hue of the stranger's attire had caught his eye, so he followed them. Who were they? Were they from the island Kingdom of Japan? But the young prince had visited Japan before, and that wasn't how their royal family dressed. Were they a noble? No, they couldn't be. Their yellow robes weren't of silk or satin but of denim and cotton, like commoner's fabric. But the young prince knew all the faces of his castle town, and none had the stranger's eyes.The young prince had only gotten to observe from a distance, but the stranger had very nice eyes. The young prince had watched the stranger look at the stars, and he wondered how those soft eyes reflected the cosmos. They probably looked quite pretty in the starlight. Which is why the young prince wanted a closer look. But, that didn't work out in his favour. So he would go back the next day.

-

Jihoon awoke to the bright sun and overly saturated blue sky. He had fallen out from his rock shelter and laid on his back facing upwards, the morning dew soaking his clothes. He lifted his phone to check the date and time. 10:41 AM on May sixth. He groaned, but something had caught his attention. He dug a mask out of his bag and opened the news article.

"17 year old Park Jihoon reported missing from small city by neighbour after not returning home for three days." He read the headline out loud. Park Jihoon? Missing? But he was Park Jihoon, and he wasn't missing. He was right here in dreamland, and considering the amount of time he had spent here, probably in the hospital in a coma. He scrolled through the article, reading further into the details of his own case. Apparently he hadn't come home at the regular time on the third, but his neighbours brushed it off. But when he hadn't shown up for the next two days, they contacted the school and were told that he hadn't shown up and was presumed sick or dropped out. Eventually, at seven that morning, a missing persons report was filed with his name and picture listed as the one missing. He began to shake with nerves. This was a dream, there was no way he was missing. As if reflecting his mood, rain started to fall along with his tears. This was beginning to feel more like a nightmare than a comatose dream. He frantically ran into the puddle and searched for something,  _anything_ , that would bring him back home. He froze when he heard a rustle of leaves and a voice behind him.

"What are you doing?"


	3. Jinyoung

Jihoon slowly turned to look at whoever had spoken. The boy had dark, messy hair and wore a too-big blue robe with golden embroidery - it almost looked like a prince costume. The boy tilted his head to the side and stared at Jihoon, a clear umbrella keeping him dry. He repeated the question.

"What are you doing?" Jihoon struggled to find an explanation.

"I, ummm.. I..." The boy continued to stare at Jihoon with an intensity that caused him to forget what he was going to say. Jihoon stared back, trying to figure out who this boy was. He knew that the brain couldn't make up a new face; that all the faces you saw in your dreams were someone you had seen before, even in passing. Except he would have remembered the boy who stood at the edge of the puddle. It's not every day you see a boy with a face that small and eyes that big. Maybe he wasn't dreaming. Jihoon finally found his words.

"Umm.. where exactly am I?" The boy looked at him like he was stupid, and Jihoon couldn't blame him.

"You're in Korea."

"Okay... but  _where_ in Korea?" The boy looked at Jihoon like he was crazy  _and_ stupid. Jihoon thought he had asked a perfectly normal question.

"You're in Korea." The boy parroted himself. Jihoon felt his annoyance grow. Was he being difficult on purpose?

"But  _where_ _?_ Like, what province?" Jihoon thought the boy would throw the umbrella at him.

"Provinces? There are no such thing as provinces. They exist only in the old legends."

"Well if there aren't provinces then what are there?"

"Kingdoms. You are in the Kingdom of Korea. Are you sick?"  _Kingdoms?_ Had he gone back in time?

"No, but I hit my head pretty hard. What year is it?"

"2018." If not time travel, then what could it be? A hallucination? Another dimension? Jihoon believed in the alternate universe theory, but how on Earth (or other Earth) did he get to one? There was no known way of dimension hopping. Maybe he really was crazy.

-

The young prince stared at the stranger. How hard did they have to hit their head to not know what year it was? To not know what kingdom they were in? He doubted the stranger recognized him. Where on Earth had they come from? The young prince dropped his umbrella and moved closer to the stranger, offering his hand to help them stand. The stranger accepted his offer and stood, but their knees buckled and they fell forward. The young prince caught them, finally getting a better look at the unmasked part of their face. He guessed the stranger was a boy about his age, maybe a little bit older. Not to mention his eyes were even more breathtaking up close. The young prince tentatively brought his hand to the other boy's mask, and when he didn't pull away the young prince removed the mask. He was sure this boy came from somewhere far, far away. He would have recognized a face like that. 

"Pretty..." The word escaped his lips before he could stop himself. The stranger pulled away and looked at him, traces of fear and confusion in his eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked. The young prince had expected the question to come eventually. He stood proudly and told the other his title.

"Prince Bae Jinyoung of the Kingdom of Korea, next in line to the throne."

-

Jihoon was convinced one of the two had lost it. A prince? No way. Apparently his expression conveyed his thoughts, because Jinyoung crossed his arms and stared back at him. 

"You think I'm lying? You must have hit your head quite hard, you're forgetting what I just told you about kingdoms." Jihoon agreed with the hit his head too hard part. If this really was a kingdom, Jihoon was disappointed in the lack of castles. 

"Well  _Your Majesty_ , where's your castle?" Jinyoung pointed at what Jihoon had previously thought was only a town in the distance. Jihoon squinted at it and could make out the faint outline of castle further from them than the smaller buildings. Now Jihoon just looked like a fool. 

"Fine, I believe you. But why are you out here?"

"I left my bow out here, and then I saw you digging in a puddle like a madman and it peaked my interest." (Jinyoung was not about to tell the stranger he had been out searching for him). 

"Well if it so interests you, my name is Park Jihoon. Thanks for asking." Jihoon practically spat the words out. He was quickly becoming tired of this so-called prince.

"Well Park Jihoon, I need a new valet. And since you seem to have no hobbies besides digging in puddles, you're coming with me." Jinyoung grabbed Jihoon by the wrist and dragged the latter behind him.

Jinyoung led Jihoon to a dark grey horse. He hopped on and gestured for Jihoon to do the same. Jihoon stared at him blankly. 

"Don't tell me you don't know how to ride a horse." Jihoon shook his head. Jinyoung offered his hand to Jihoon and helped him up. "Just hold on to me and you shouldn't fall." Jihoon did as he was told, wrapping his arms around Jinyoung's waist and resting his chin on the latter's shoulder. He noticed Jinyoung's cheeks grow slightly warm. Was the cocky show the prince had put on earlier just that - a show? Jihoon wasn't great at reading people, but could Jinyoung possibly be.. shy? Jihoon hadn't even done anything bold, just what Jinyoung had instructed him to do. He lifted his gaze to the sky, raindrops hitting his eyes but without the sting he was used to from the dirty water of his home. He felt out of place in this pure world of princes and kingdoms. He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on Jinyoung, drifting off to sleep.

Jihoon awoke to Jinyoung lightly shaking his shoulder. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked up at the castle he had arrived at, his arms still around Jinyoung's waist. The castle looked like it was made out of crystals, but with a silver sheen. Similar to that of the leaves on the sparkly trees. Jihoon stared in awe until Jinyoung decided it was time for them to go inside, detaching Jihoon from his waist and leading him to the doors by his wrist. They entered a large room with a high ceiling that Jihoon assumed was the throne room. He saw three ornate chairs on a very high platform, two being filled by who he assumed were Jinyoung's parents. Jinyoung knelt in front of the staircase that led up to the chairs. When Jihoon didn't do the same, Jinyoung quietly snapped his fingers at him and gestured for him to kneel as well. He felt the eyes of Jinyoung's father - the king - burning into his back. He probably looked less than presentable, which was a great first impression to make on a king. Jinyoung stared at the floor as he spoke.

"Father, this is Park Jihoon. He's shown interest in being my valet."  _Liar!_

Jinyoung's father had a deep, intimidating voice. "Don't you have Minhyun?"

"Father, wouldn't it be beneficial to have a valet who is closer to my age and is solely my valet? Minhyun has other duties and can't be attending to my needs constantly." Jinyoung's voice remained monotone with very little expression.

"Jinyoung, I told you to get closer to Miss Jieqiong if you want someone closer to your age. It's in four months and you haven't gotten any closer with her than you were a year ago. What kind of impression does that leave?" He paused and thought. "But about Minhyun having other duties, you do raise a good point. We don't want our only loyal butler getting overwhelmed by the silly needs of a teenage boy. I'll let this new one stay - for now - but if he needs to go then I will not hesitate." Jinyoung's father spoke sternly. Jihoon wondered if that's how his father would have spoken to him, had he been around. Jinyoung's mother hadn't said a word the entire conversation, though she appeared apprehensive. Jinyoung stood and bowed in gratitude to his father, Jihoon following his lead. Jinyoung quickly left the room, leaving Jinyoung to trail after him. No one except his mother had noticed that the young prince's eyes were filled with fear.

Jihoon finally caught up to Jinyoung. Both remained silent until they arrived at a dark, wooden door. Jinyoung kept his eyes trained on the floor as he walked in, leaving the heavy door open for Jihoon to follow. Jihoon did so, closing the door behind him. The room he had been led to was Jinyoung's bedroom. It had a lower ceiling than Jihoon's living room, but the room itself was quite large. The walls were darker, but the two large windows (one led to a balcony) let in enough daylight so that it didn't seem cramped. Jinyoung's bed had a deep blue comforter with matching pillow cases, and the bed frame was large and made of a dark brown wood. There was a screen dividing the room into two parts - Jihoon didn't ask what was behind it. Jinyoung sat down on the bed and still appeared visibly shaken from the conversation with his father. Jihoon tentatively sat down beside him. Jinyoung remained unchanged, as if Jihoon wasn't even there in the first place. He sat so still that Jihoon thought he had fallen asleep with his eyes open.

"Um, Your Majes-"

"I'm sorry for my father earlier. We must have caught him on a bad day. I promise he isn't always like that." The words came out in a tumble. It took Jihoon a moment to cipher what had been said.  _But why did Jinyoung feel the need to apologize?_ Jinyoung stopped himself before he rambled more and settled on a simple question. 

"It it okay if I ask you some things?" Jihoon nodded. 

"Are you from here?"

"No, I come from far away. You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Jinyoung looked hurt. "Tell me anyways."

"Well you probably already think that I'm crazy, so here goes. I think that I come from another dimension. Somewhere where Korea has provinces and cities - actually it's two separate countries - and there's no kingdoms."

"I think you hit your head too hard." Jihoon hadn't expected Jinyoung to believe him, but it was worth a shot. Jinyoung continued with his questions.

"Why were you digging in a puddle?"

"This is even harder to believe, but I think that's how I came here. All I know is one minute I was walking to my house and the next I was laying in that puddle." Jinyoung pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded, causing some of his hair to fall into his eyes. Jihoon reached up and brushed it away, retracting his hand when Jinyoung looked up at him with wide eyes. Both boys looked at their laps, quickly forgetting their too long eye contact. Jinyoung played with his hands while Jihoon thought of ways to break the now awkward silence.

"Your Majesty, what exactly does a valet do?"

"Oh, uh, it means 'gentleman's gentleman', so you're basically my servant. You accompany me to lessons, you accompany me when I travel, you run baths, and you're supposed to help me get dressed but I can do that one on my own." Jinyoung kept staring at his lap. He then pointed to the screen dividing the room. "Your bed is behind there. Sorry its old, I haven't had a personal valet in a long time. My father doesn't trust people my age around me, he thinks they'll corrupt me or make me impure somehow."

"Why does it matter?" Jihoon was astonished at how controlling Jinyoung's father was. 

"I'm not sure. Something about the marriage, I think it has to do with wedding traditions." 

"Marriage? How old are you?"

"16. Her name is Princess Zhou Jieqiong of the Kingdom of China. We've been engaged since I was six. The ceremony is in four months." Jinyoung suddenly looked at Jihoon's clothes. He gave Jihoon a look of mild disgust, probably because of the stains covering his uniform.

"This won't do. I can't have my valet looking like he was playing in mud puddles. You're coming with me." Yet again, Jihoon was dragged by his wrist.


	4. Awkward at First

Awkward was one way to describe Jihoon's uniform fitting. Other ways would be uncomfortable, difficult, and overall just a bad time. Jinyoung was painfully indecisive about how he wanted Jihoon to look, the choosing process taking an hour alone. Jihoon ended up falling asleep, so he wasn't included in the final decision. He doubted he would have been had he been awake. Jinyoung tapped him on the head with a ruler to wake him up.

"You sleep a lot. Do you sleep at night?"

"Yes, and I'll go back to sleep right now if we don't speed this up."

"We decided what you'll be wearing but to get measured you have to... you have to take your clothes off." Jinyoung hid the lower half of his face behind his handful of papers, muffling the sound and causing Jihoon to miss what he had said.

"Can you repeat that last part? I have to what?"

"You have to take your clothes off." He still hid his face with papers, though Jihoon could see his ears turning red.

”Pardon?”

"I SAID YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR CLOTHES OFF!" Jinyoung stormed out after that, his face a blushing mess. Jihoon could not figure out Jinyoung, no matter how hard he tried. He spoke with confident words but as soon as anything physical came his way he got shy. The two sides of his personality seemed to directly oppose each other, as if the two could not exist in harmony. Yet, they did in Jinyoung. Jihoon decided not to dwell on it, it wasn't that deep anyways. He proceeded to take off his clothes for measurements, the seamstress stopping him when he got to his underclothes. The measuring process took half an hour at most, though Jihoon had a lot of foreign objects put into dangerous places. Once she was done with her measurements, the seamstress informed Jihoon that the actual cutting and sewing process would take somewhere around three or four hours. He was welcome to stay during that time or go back to his room. Jihoon opted for the first option, partially to avoid Jinyoung and partially to let Jinyoung have his space. He settled on the couch in the corner and fell asleep.

-

Jinyoung made sure to lock the door to his room behind him, though he doubted anyone would follow him inside. He hung up his robe and fell face first onto the bed, groaning in exasperation. He had no idea what the warm, airy feeling was in his stomach (maybe he was sick), or why Park Jihoon made him feel it (maybe he was Jihoon intolerant). He had once read a story about a boy who had fallen in love, a cautionary tale. Though, he didn't know why he was recalling it now - he had read the story years ago. He didn't remember the story as a whole, but instead recalled one specific detail. The boy in the story had described love as a warm and airy feeling in his stomach, that spread to his chest and cheeks whenever his lover was around. That was absurd though, Jinyoung wasn't in love and  _definitely_ not with Park Jihoon. Love was something for the commoners, the townsfolk who had control over their lives. As a royal, his fate was decided from the moment he was born (or perhaps from the moment his family had drastically changed). Therefore, love was not something he felt nor something he thought about. He never had and he never would, he doubted he even had the emotional capacity or time to love anyone. Plus, he didn't even know what a lover was. The book never went into detail about what the word meant, and he didn't find it important at the time of reading. Now, he was curious. What kinds of things did lovers do? Did they kiss? He shook his head, only married couples were supposed to do that (though in his 16 years of living he hadn't seen his parents do anything of the sort). Were married couples supposed to be lovers? Even if he had been avoiding Jieqiong for weeks, was she his future lover? Was he supposed to love her?  _Could_ he love her? He would have to ask Minhyun during his next set of lessons. He rolled onto his back and waited for Jihoon to return, hoping that the boy had decided to stay during the sewing process. He didn't know if he could face him right now.

-

The seamstress gently woke Jihoon, unlike Jinyoung who went for shaking and hitting with potential weapons to wake him. She had gently tapped Jihoon on the shoulder and left his new uniform folded on the couch, by his feet. He unfolded it and looked at it for the first time. It was a pair of black dress pants with a matching vest, paired with a dark blue dress shirt that matched the hue of Jinyoung's robe. There weren't any shoes to go along with the ensemble, so Jihoon assumed his tattered sneakers had made the cut. It wasn't horrible, but not something he would choose for himself. He couldn't complain though, free clothes were free clothes and the fabric seemed quite nice (expensive). He changed out of his old, dirty uniform, throwing it in a nearby trash disposal as he walked back to Jinyoung's room. When he arrived, Jinyoung's door was locked. He knocked and heard a thump from inside, guessing he had caused Jinyoung to either fall or drop something. The lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing a startled looking Jinyoung. He looked Jihoon up and down, taking in his new attire. 

"It looks nice." He whispered, retreating back into the room. Jihoon followed and sat down on the bed that Jinyoung was laying on. The young prince had lost the robe, and in it's place he wore a very dark blue (almost black), loose fitting dress shirt and black jeans. Jihoon knew that Jinyoung was tall, but the long robe from earlier disguised his long legs and thin stature. In Jihoon's world, he could be a model. 

"Jihoon," Jinyoung whispered from behind him, "what's a lover?" Jihoon laughed. How sheltered was this kid?

"I'm not telling you."

"Do you not know either?"

"I know, but I'm not telling you." Jinyoung sighed.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to."

"Have you ever had one?"

"No." Jihoon felt Jinyoung sit beside him.

"I read a book once, about a boy who fell in love. The book said he had a lover, but never described what that word meant. It was a book to warn us about love. Jihoon, have you ever been in love?"

"No." Jihoon stood up and walked past the screen to his side of the room, flopping onto the bed. What game was Jinyoung trying to play with him?

-

Early the next morning, Jihoon had to accompany Jinyoung to his lessons. Jihoon followed him throughout all of them, never getting to participate. He instead watched from a distance, archery quickly becoming personal favourite of his to watch. If asked, he would tell you that it was the sport that intrigued him but in his heart he knew that it was watching Jinyoung that intrigued him. It seemed that once Jinyoung held a bow, all his awkwardness and snarky comments disappeared and he had a regal atmosphere surrounding him. It was the first time Jihoon truly believed he was a prince and not just a bratty kid trying to get on his nerves. Jinyoung's lessons were quite different from Jihoon's own, things like finances and battle planning. It was interesting, but Jihoon understood none of it. When it came time for language lessons, Jinyoung started by asking his teacher a question.

"Professor, is Miss Jieqiong my lover?" Jihoon snorted with laughter from behind him.

"You're still on that?" Jinyoung turned around and glared at him.

"Is that a problem?"

"Tell me Your Majesty, have you kissed her?"

"No." Jinyoung's cheeks started to turn red again. _Damn, this kid blushes at everything._ Jihoon leaned forward.

"Tell me Your Majesty, have you slept with her?"

"NO!" Jinyoung smacked Jihoon on the arm and turned away, his face fully red again.

"Then she's not your lover." Jihoon rubbed the part of his arm that Jinyoung had hit. Jinyoung's teacher had stayed silent during the whole interaction, instead watching with a shocked expression on his face. Hopefully Jinyoung would shut up about the whole lover thing now, or he would look it up on his own. Jihoon had discovered the previous night that what he had originally thought were candle lanterns along the walls were actually lights with working electricity, meaning that the castle had some form of internal wiring. There had to be a computer somewhere, and if not that then there was a library. Jinyoung would find the answers to his question eventually.

Jinyoung's next lesson was etiquette for his upcoming wedding, and unfortunately the only lesson that Jihoon would be participating in. As Jihoon would be attending said wedding, he too had to learn the traditions and manners for a royal wedding here. One of the said traditions was a special dance between the bride and groom, much like the first dance of Jihoon's world. Jihoon had witnessed his own share of weddings on TV (though he had never attended one), but the style of dancing Jinyoung had to learn was nothing he had ever seen before. He had no words to describe it, but Jinyoung appeared to be having difficulties. His teacher was taller than him, which added to the silliness of the whole situation but probably made it even harder for Jinyoung. As Jihoon was laughing at the scene playing out in front of him, he was called over. He obliged and moved closer, noticing Jinyoung's eyes trained on the floor. Jinyoung's teacher introduced himself as Minhyun, the butler Jihoon had heard about the previous day.

"Jihoon, how tall are you?"

"1.73 metres. Why?"

"That should do." Jihoon gave him a puzzled look. His hands were unceremoniously thrust into Jinyoung's, but Jinyoung was too busy turning the colour of a tomato again to notice. Jihoon squeezed his hand to get his attention. By then Minhyun had moved off to the side, nose buried into some important looking documents. 

"Why are you blushing? It's just a dance."

"Because it's embarrassing to do it with you."

"Well Your Majesty, you could have just said that you don't want to dance with me."

"It's embarrassing because I've never danced with anyone shorter than me before and I don't know what I'm doing."

"Thanks for that one."

"S-since Miss Jieqiong is shorter than me and Minhyun is taller than me he said that you'd be a better partner to learn with." Jinyoung's eyes went wide with surprise at his own rush of words. Jihoon remained unaffected.

"Whatever, let's just get this over with." The entire time, Jinyoung avoided eye contact with Jihoon. Even when Jihoon asked him things, the prince kept his eyes on the floor and still somehow managed to step on Jihoon's feet multiple times. Overall, a very awkward experience. At least the classes were over by noontime. Since Jinyoung was giving him the silent treatment, Jihoon decided to explore the castle. Instead of turning right like usual when he left Jinyoung's room, he turned left and continued down the hallway. A short distance away from Jinyoung's room, there was a door almost identical to the first. Jihoon knocked on the door. Maybe Jinyoung had a sibling he had failed to tell Jihoon about. After a few minutes and no answer, Jihoon knocked again. Still no answer. He placed his hand on the doorknob and pushed, surprised that the door gave way to his touch. The door opened only a sliver before Jihoon heard someone speak behind him. 

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you. The ceiling has perpetual leaks and you may slip on the puddles on the floor." Jihoon turned to see the queen behind him. She had a kind face, and Jihoon immediately felt compelled to listen to whatever she had to say. "It's just an empty room. Come, I think I saw Jinyoung in the library. A valet should not stray too far from his master during times like these." She turned on her heel, Jihoon following behind her. She had said it was an empty room, but Jihoon could swear he had seen the shadows of furniture.


	5. The Definition of L-

The queen led Jihoon to the library. It followed the same iridescent colour scheme as many of the other major rooms in the castle, along with the high ceilings and large windows in which daylight poured through. A hallway-like space with rows of large shelves on either side led the eye to the open area at the back, which was filled with tables and chairs for reading. An air of calm washed over Jihoon. The queen pointed towards the back of the room and informed Jihoon that she had seen Jinyoung in that area. Jihoon bowed to her as she left. He made his way to where she had pointed, still in awe at the sheer size of the library. It was by far the biggest one he had seen. Jihoon was so lost in his own world that he tripped over a table leg, almost crushing Jinyoung in the process. Jinyoung put out a hand to stop his fall, but the two were still dangerously close. So close in fact, that Jihoon could hear Jinyoung's breath catch when they locked eyes. They held the awkward position for a moment too long before pulling away. Jinyoung dog-eared the page he was reading and closed the book. Jihoon stole a glance at the page, and it looked like the "L" section of a dictionary.

"What are you reading?" Jinyoung set the book on the table beside him, purposely placing it so that the title was hidden from Jihoon's view. 

"Nothing much. What are you doing here?"

"Your mother said that a prince shouldn't be alone during times like these, Your Majesty."

"I suppose that she's right, but I can fend for myself well enough."

"Still, it's good to have someone else around if something does happen. By the way, what did she mean by 'times like these?'" Jinyoung sighed and looked at the floor. He pursed his lips and thought for a few minutes.

"The reason I have to marry Miss Jieqiong is to unite our kingdoms. For hundreds of years, they have been at war with each other. Our fathers both hope that a wedding will spark the spread of peace throughout the civilians. However, there still is the chance of attack by Chinese soldiers." Jihoon processed everything Jinyoung had said.  _War? But this world seems so peaceful._ He knelt in front of Jinyoung and placed a hand over his heart. He didn't look up in time to catch Jinyoung's bewildered expression.

"I vow to protect you until my last breath, my prince." Jihoon looked up and beamed at Jinyoung, but was met with a solemn look.

"Those are bold words, my Jihoon." Jinyoung responded. Jihoon glared at him.

"Since when am I your Jihoon?"

"Since the moment you stepped foot in this castle." Jinyoung stood and looked down at Jihoon. "And you are mine until your last breath." Jinyoung grew flustered once he realized the weight of his words. Jihoon laughed and stood up. He playfully shoved Jinyoung.

"I already said that, dumbass." Jinyoung laughed, and it was the first time that Jihoon had seen him smile.

"So you  _can_ smile. You should do it more often, it makes you look better." Jinyoung didn't have any papers to hide his face, so Jihoon got to witness the full force of his blush.

"Jihoon, what does 'dumbass' mean?"

"It means you, Your Majesty."

-

The library quickly became Jihoon's favourite part of the castle. He wasn't much of a reader, but the history of a whole other universe was something of interest to him. Plus, he often ran into Jinyoung there but that  _definitely_ wasn't one of the reasons that he liked it. Ever since Jinyoung's warning of an attack, Jihoon was more alert. He became more of a bodyguard than a valet but was still a mixture of the two. Jinyoung also found himself enjoying the library more. Whenever he noticed Jihoon heading in its direction, he followed. He hadn't originally liked the library when he was younger, but as he grew older he learnt to appreciate it more. Once he figured out that it was Jihoon's favourite place, he felt protective of it. On the occasion that his father suggested reducing its size, he and his mother firmly defended it. He wanted to protect the things that made Jihoon happy from his father. Or, alternatively, he wanted to protect Jihoon from his father. Jinyoung knew that his father did not like him, so the things or people that he liked were at risk of being destroyed. Even when Seongwoo had been around to protect him, his father still found ways to terrorize him. Now that Seongwoo was gone, there was no protection other than avoidance. At least he could protect Jihoon, even if the latter didn't realize it. He tried to keep it secret, but it was hard to hide from his father how much he cared for Jihoon. If only he was like Seongwoo, then he wouldn't have to hide. If only he was like Seongwoo, then maybe his father would care.

-

Jihoon was half asleep. He held onto the blanket in his sleep, wishing he had another as the temperature was seemingly dropping rather than rising like he was used to this time of year. Different dimensions, different seasons, he guessed. He felt a hand caress his cheek, not sure if it was real or a dream. The hand was soft, so he leaned into the touch. His eyes fluttered open in time to see Jinyoung jerk his hand away.

"Why are you up so late? What do you want?"

"I'm cold. Can you get me a blanket?"

"Get your own blanket."

"I don't know where they are."

“Neither do I.” Jinyoung poked Jihoon's forehead.

"Which one of us is the valet here?" Jihoon sighed and rolled out of his bed. He wandered into the hallway, squinting as the light hit his eyes. Once his eyes grew used to the brightness, he searched for a linen closet or something similar. He found about three storage closets, but none had a blanket. In the two weeks he had been in the castle, he still had yet to figure out basic things like this. After hopelessly searching for about ten minutes, he came across Minhyun.

"Oh, Jihoon was it? What are you looking for?"

"Jihoon, yes, and I'm looking for a blanket. His Majesty said that he's cold."

"Well, you won't find one searching in the walls. Come, I'll show you to the maids' quarters." Jihoon felt uneasy about visiting a room full of girls in the middle of the night, especially when he could tell that he wasn't liked by the king.

"Are you sure that's okay? Am I allowed to be there?"

"Of course, you may be a personal valet but you are still a servant of the king. All of us are allowed in that wing." Minhyun grabbed him by the hand and led him to the west wing of the castle. Minhyun knocked on the door of the maids' quarters and Jihoon expected a pretty girl to answer. Instead, and energetic young boy answered and practically threw himself on Minhyun.

"MINHYUUUUUNNNNN!!! Why are you visiting so late?" Minhyun tried to shove him off but the boy only hugged him tighter.

"Seonho, get off of me! And be quiet, you're going to wake up the whole castle at this point! You've already woken up everyone in the room!" Minhyun finally succeeded in pushing Seonho off and back into the room, causing the young boy to pout. 

"Stop pouting and act your age. Can you get me a blanket?"

"I'm too short to reach them, remember?"

"Then get someone else to do it." Seonho turned and yelled into the room, which earned him a glare from Minhyun.

"GUANLIIIIIINNNN! Can you get me a blanket? Pretty please? Minhyun wants one." Jihoon's head snapped up. He peered over Minhyun's shoulder and into Seonho's room. Indeed, it was Lai Guanlin that he saw. He touched his lips before realized that it wasn't the same Lai Guanlin that had kissed him on a rooftop two weeks ago. He may look the same and talk the same, but he wasn't the same person. Still, that didn't stop Jihoon from remembering. If he could, he would just avoid him as much as possible. He had other duties to attend to anyway, and hopefully, Guanlin did too. When he walked over with the blanket, Jihoon hid behind Minhyun. When the door finally closed, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Minhyun turned around and saw his nervous expression. 

"What, are you scared of them? Seonho may be loud and Guanlin may look scary, but they're both sweethearts. Trust me." Jihoon meekly nodded. Minhyun handed him the blanket for Jinyoung. 

"Can you find your way back?" Jihoon recalled the turns they had made and nodded. He watched Minhyun return to his own room, and Jihoon made his way back to Jinyoung's room. When he got back, Jinyoung was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was in the bathroom. Jihoon walked past the screen and called out to Jinyoung in a whisper.

"Your Majesty, I have your blanket." Jihoon saw movement out of the corner of his eye and did a double take. Jinyoung wasn't in the bathroom, he was in Jihoon's bed. Jihoon walked over and glared at him.

"What are you doing?"

"I told you, I'm cold. I'm warming up."

"You have your own bed  _and_ I got you a blanket."

"Your bed seemed warmer than mine."

"Well, I'm going to need it back now." Jihoon threw the blanket at Jinyoung's face.

"We'll both fit." Jihoon sighed. He was too tired to argue with Jinyoung, so he crawled into his bed, beside the young prince.  Jinyoung wrapped his arms around Jihoon's waist.

"Your Majesty, if you wanted to sleep in my bed you could have just asked. You didn't have to send me on a blanket hunt. I ended up meeting those two weird maids." Jinyoung laughed quietly.

"Oh, Seonho and Guanlin? They're new, don't mind them. But I do agree with the weird part." They both fell silent, syncing their breathing with each other. Jihoon was just about asleep when Jinyoung whispered from behind him.

"Jihoon?"

"Yeah?"

"You can drop the 'Your Majesty' thing. Call me Jinyoung."

"Okay, Jinyoung." The younger giggled when Jihoon said his name.

"Say it again."

"Goodnight, Jinyoung."

"Goodnight Jihoon."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry its short I had a lot of writer's block :(


	6. If Wishes were Stars

It became a habit for Jinyoung to sleep in Jihoon’s bed. It didn't happen all the time, but every other night or so Jinyoung would crawl into bed beside Jihoon. On the nights that this didn't happen, Jihoon found it more difficult to fall asleep. He had grown accustomed to Jinyoung’s presence and warmth beside him. Sometimes he felt the urge to ask Jinyoung in the middle of the night, but he never acted on it in fear of annoying Jinyoung.

One day, after Jinyoung’s lessons, him and Jihoon were in the library yet again. The two had been spending a lot of time there lately. Jinyoung acted normally during the day but shied away from Jihoon during the night, and Jihoon felt vaguely insulted. He wondered if he had done something wrong. Or had Jinyoung gotten tired of him that easily? A comfortable silence had fallen over the two as they sat on one of the loveseats, Jinyoung studying some charts from his lessons and Jihoon trying not to fall asleep in the warmth of the daylight pouring through the windows. Jihoon saw this as his opportunity. He scooted over until just before him and Jinyoung were touching and whispered the following:

”Jinyoung, do you wanna sleep with me tonight?” Jinyoung didn't hesitate with his answer.

”No.” Jihoon felt his expression fall and he moved away from Jinyoung. The latter turned to him and laughed, which gained him a pout from Jihoon. He gave an excuse for his cold behaviour to appease Jihoon’s pouting.

”I was thinking of going on an adventure tonight. Wanna come?” Jihoon gave him a confused look.

”What kind of adventure?” Jinyoung closed the distance between them. He whispered so quietly that if Jihoon hadn't been listening intently, he would have missed it.

”A surprise.”

Jihoon automatically nodded in agreement.

-

When night finally fell, Jinyoung and Jihoon waited until everyone was surely asleep. They sat beside each other on Jinyoung’s bed, the window open to let in the fresh night air. It was one of the few warmer nights recently, so Jinyoung decided to wear a simple t-shirt and jeans. Jihoon couldn't stop staring, in awe of how Jinyoung could look so good in such a simple outfit. Jihoon didn't have any clothes besides his uniform, but he decided to ditch the vest and leave his shirt untucked. At one point, Jinyoung left to go check if everyone was asleep. Jihoon sat in the silence and darkness of the room, thinking to himself. He wondered how they were dealing with his disappearance at home, if anyone even cared anymore. Suddenly Jinyoung reappeared in front of Jihoon, snapping him out of his thoughts. With an impish grin and glittering eyes, Jinyoung took Jihoon’s hand and led him through the castle. It was a different world this late, their footsteps echoing on the marble floor. The darkness that surrounded them was absolute, if not for Jinyoung’s hand in his, Jihoon would have gotten lost. Jihoon sped up his pace so he was walking beside Jinyoung. When they arrived at the doors, Jihoon paused.

”Jinyoung, are you sure we won't get caught?”

”I’m sure. I might have bribed the maids with extra sweets.” Jihoon let out a small giggle as Jinyoung pushed open the door and led him into the night. They first went to the archery range to pick up Jinyoung’s equipment. Jihoon watched as Jinyoung grabbed everything. He let his mind wander and he started daydreaming. Or was it night dreaming? Either way, an arrow whistling over his head brought him back to reality. He looked to see Jinyoung poised with his bow after just firing, and he looked ~~absolutely breathtaking~~ like a lead actor from a historical drama.

”What if that hit me?” Jihoon called to him.

”I would never. I’m a good shot!” Jinyoung faked insult.

”Dumbass,” he mumbled, ”but what if it did?” Jinyoung shrugged.

”Then you wouldn't be mine anymore.” Jinyoung ran off, leaving Jihoon to chase him. But Jihoon felt as if his feet had grown roots. He _knew_ that he had called himself Jinyoung’s, but every time the younger said it himself, Jihoon felt a pang in his heart. When Jinyoung realized that Jihoon hadn't chased after him, he turned back. Jihoon seemed out of it lately, maybe he was getting sick. Jinyoung would take him to the herbalist in town the next day. He noticed Jihoon standing in the middle of the archery range, looking lost. Jinyoung saw this as his opportunity. He snuck up behind Jihoon and jumped on him. Jihoon let out a yell of surprise, much to Jinyoung’s satisfaction. He giggled in delight as Jihoon shoved and glared at him.

”That’s what you get for zoning out!” Jinyoung slipped his hand into Jihoon’s and led him to the stables.

Jihoon sat behind Jinyoung on the horse, his arms yet again wrapped around the latter’s waist. They sped through the night, the wind ruffling their hair. Jihoon had no idea where Jinyoung was taking him, but he didn't care. He wanted to save this moment in his heart forever. Once they arrived at their destination, Jihoon wondered why on _earth_ Jinyoung had chosen this place. They were on the edge of the forest that Jihoon had explored when he first arrived. It was a beautiful forest, but not really one for adventuring in.

”Why did you choose here?”

”Truth be told, I saw you here once, weeks ago. You seemed to like it.” Jihoon was touched that Jinyoung remembered such a small detail about him. Yes, he did like it, but he still wondered what they were doing here. Jinyoung clearly knew that he had seen the forest already.

”But,” Jinyoung continued, ”you’ve only seen it from ground level.” Jinyoung swung himself onto one of the lower hanging branches of a nearby tree and extended his hand to Jihoon. Jihoon swatted it away.

”I can climb trees myself, thank you very much.”

That was a blatant lie, Jihoon had never climbed a tree in his life. His lack of experience was soon made known as he struggled to get from one branch to the other, and Jinyoung eventually did have to help him. Once Jihoon was safely in the branches, Jinyoung led him deeper into the forest, hopping from tree to tree. Jinyoung seemed experienced at this and Jihoon wondered how much of his time he spent here. As they ventured deeper into the trees, they also got higher as they went. When Jinyoung eventually stopped moving forward, they were nearly at the top of the tree they were in. Jinyoug smiled at Jihoon and continued upwards, leaving Jihoon to follow him while mumbling about how crazy he was. Though, when they reached the top, the amount of climbing was worth it. The full moon hung in the sky, surrounded by the stars. The light of the moon reflected off of the sparkles in the leaves, and the darkness of the leaves blended in with the sky. It looked as if Jinyoung and Jihoon were part of the sky themselves.

”It’s beautiful...” Jihoon whispered. He was too enamoured by the clearness of the sky to notice Jinyoung staring at him, specifically how the stars looked in his eyes. Jinyoung moved closer to Jihoon and pulled out an arrow. This, Jihoon noticed.

”So you take me up to the tops of the trees, show me a beautiful view, and then shoot me with your arrows? Thanks for that.” Jihoon joked. Jinyoung didn’t laugh along with him but instead aimed his arrow towards the sky.

”Not you. I’m going to shoot the moon.”

 _”Shoot for the moon, because even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”_ Jihoon whispered. He hadn't expected Jinyoung to hear him, but he did.

”What does that mean?” He wondered, not taking his eyes off his target.

”It’s a metaphor for wishes. It means that it’s okay to have big wishes because even if they don’t come true, you’ll still have something close to or even better than what you had wanted.”

”Then, we’ll shoot this arrow into the moon with a wish.

_”We??”_

”Yes we. Put your hands next to mine and we’ll shoot it together.” Jihoon tentatively did as he was told, careful not to bump into Jinyoung.

”Now on the count of three, we’ll make our wishes as I let the string go. Got it?” Jihoon nodded. ”Okay. 1... 2... 3!” Jinyoung let the arrow fly. It looked like it did indeed fly directly into the moon. Jinyoung turned to Jihoon.

”What did you wish for?”

”If I told you then it wouldn't come true.” Their attention was pulled from each other to a thud they heard in the distance. Jihoon laughed.

”You missed, looks like you're not such a great shot after all. Let’s go get that arrow and go home.”

-

Sobs wracked Jinyoung’s body. Jihoon watched, unsure what to do. They had gone to find his arrow and upon its discovery, they learnt that it had hit a rabbit. Jinyoung immediately broke down when he saw it. Jihoon had zero experience dealing with crying people, so he awkwardly watched Jinyoung silently cry. Eventually, Jihoon got fed up doing nothing and tried to make conversation.

”Jinyoung, why are you crying? It’s just a rabbit.”

”It may be just a rabbit, but it had a life and I ended it.” Jihoon walked over to him and placed a hand on his back.

”Not on purpose. Now the rabbit is among the stars with our wishes.” Jihoon didn't really believe in the whole wishes thing now, but it was something that meant a lot to him as a child. Hopefully, it would comfort Jinyoung somehow, Jihoon felt kind of uncomfortable around crying people. But still, Jinyoung’s tears fell. Jihoon sighed. It seemed like Jinyoung could cry just about as much as he could blush. Jihoon stood on his tip toes and kissed Jinyoung on the forehead, trying to calm him down. The action startled Jinyoung and he stared at Jihoon, a blush creeping into his cheeks

”Ah, I’m sorry. I won’t do that again.” Jihoon sputtered out, fearing he had angered Jinyoung.

”No, do it again.” Jihoon stared at him in confusion. ”You heard me, do it again.” His voice sounded oddly stable for someone who had just been crying. Jihoon obliged, kissing his forehead for a second time. Jinyoung melted into a fit of giggling.

”Hey, what happened to crying over the rabbit?” Jinyoung looked back at him and sniffled.

”You happened.”

They arrived back at the castle after returning Jinyoung’s horse and equipment to their spots and snuck back in through the west door. They ran into a messy-haired Seonho as they did, and Jinyoung gave him a look before he could even open his mouth. He nodded and continued on his way. 

”I guess being crown prince comes with its benefits,” Jihoon whispered. Jinyoung hushed him by placing a finger on his lips. Jihoon jerked backwards in surprise but remained silent until they arrived back at Jinyoung’s room. It was still nighttime, and moonlight poured through the windows they had left open.

”See? If you had shot it then we wouldn't be able to see anything right now.” Jinyoung didn't say anything but instead wandered onto the balcony. Jihoon followed and stood beside him, leaning forward onto the metal railing.

”Miss Jieqiong is visiting for two weeks. She arrives tomorrow.”

”And...?”

”And she’ll be staying in our room. It’s tradition, for us to get used to each other or something like that.” Jihoon felt a pang of jealousy that he knew she shouldn't feel. Jieqiong was Jinyoung’s fiancée, so it would only make sense for Jinyoung to spend time with her. Jihoon was nothing more than a valet and a friend. Still, that didn’t stop his envy.

”Yeah, okay, that’s fine.” Jihoon’s voice was quiet.

”You shouldn't call me by my name when she’s here, especially around my father.”

”Right.” Jihoon felt a little crushed.

”But,” Jinyoung interrupted Jihoon’s budding self-pity session, ”we still have tonight. And I’ve changed my mind, we’ll both sleep in my bed, okay?” It was as if he could sense Jihoon’s disappointment.

Jinyoung fell asleep almost immediately, but Jihoon remained awake. He couldn't quiet his thoughts. Once he was sure Jinyoung was deeply asleep, he leaned over and kissed the other’s forehead.

”Goodnight, Your Majesty.”


	7. Miss Jieqiong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beta’d for once wow go me

Loneliness gripped Jihoon like an iron fist. Sure, he still saw Jinyoung every day, but to go from their previous relationship to calling him ”Your Majesty” and shadowing him left his chest feeling hollow and empty, like someone had taken part of his heart and hid it away. It didn’t help that Jieqiong didn’t like him - shooting fiery glares of disapproval at him whenever she got the chance. To accompany the glares, she also ordered him around. Yes, he was a valet, but he was _Jinyoung’s_ valet. Still, he followed them as best he could. As an observer, he felt pangs of jealousy stabbing him every time she was affectionate with Jinyoung. Even if it was clear there were no real feelings between the two, the empty feeling in his chest seemed the grow whenever he saw them together, which was often. The pangs of jealousy soon grew into something akin to hatred, not for Jieqiong but for the fact that it wasn't him beside Jinyoung during meals like usual, for the fact that it wasn't him holding Jinyoung’s hand as they walked through the hallways. He didn't know where this jealousy was coming from, but it felt as if he was being eaten from the inside out.

-

The first time Jihoon had gone through the castle town, he was asleep and on a horse. The second time, he was in a carriage and sat across from Jinyoung and Jieqiong. There was an unspoken awkwardness in the air, causing the three to remain silent. Jihoon could feel the weight of the tension like a wet towel around his shoulders; he wished he could be anywhere but in his current situation. The carriage rolled to a stop in the town square, drawing attention from the townsfolk. Jihoon peered through the small window as Jinyoung and Jieqiong stepped out, watching the people bow deeply to both of them. Jinyoung noticed Jihoon remaining in the carriage and beckoned for him to step outside as well. The coolness of the air enveloped him as he did and he subconsciously stepped closer to Jinyoung. As the two royals waved at their future subjects, Jihoon felt out of place in the world yet again. As much as he knew he didn't belong here, part of him felt at home in this other universe. Maybe it was Jinyoung’s presence beside him or maybe it was the freedom from schoolwork and his student life, but he would much rather stay here than return home. Once the people of the town were done celebrating Jinyoung’s visit, Jieqiong came from her side of the carriage to stand on Jinyoung’s other side. She whispered something in Jinyoung’s ear, while Jihoon watched with curiosity. Whatever Jieqiong had told him, he shook his head in disagreement and pointed in the direction they had come from. Jieqiong glared at Jihoon and turned on her heel, the gold in her dress glinting in the sunlight as she stormed towards one of the shops. Jinyoung watched her until she disappeared inside, sighing dejectedly as he focused on the dusty road below them. 

”Where did she go?” Jihoon broke the silence with a question. 

”She has an appointment at the dressmaker’s and she wanted me to accompany her, but I have my own errands to do.” His voice was low, as if he had just been scolded and was recounting what he had done. 

“I’ll stay in the carriage then,” Jihoon tried not to let his disappointment show in his voice, but he had wanted to spend at least a little bit of time with Jinyoung. However, he didn't want to intrude on the other’s tasks so he thought the carriage would be the best option. 

”No, as a valet it's your job to accompany me during these types of outings.” _Oh,_ Jihoon thought, _of course that’s why he’d ask me to stay._ ”Plus,” Jinyoung continued, causing Jihoon to perk up with interest, “I missed you.” He flashed Jihoon a crooked grin and ran off, leaving the other to chase after him. 

After Jihoon had caught up with Jinyoung, the two walked arm in arm through the town. Jihoon resisted the urge to rest his head on Jinyoung’s shoulder and instead hoped that they would get some time with each other out of the public eye. When Jinyoung said he missed him, Jihoon’s heart jumped with excitement. It felt as if someone had given him back part of the missing piece of his heart, thus reducing the empty feeling in his chest. Jinyoung suddenly stopped and Jihoon’s momentum was thrown forward, but Jinyoung put out a hand to stop him from falling. Jihoon only hoped that the latter couldn't feel his heart racing. He peered up at the sign above the entrance, it read ’apothecary.’

”Are you sick?” Jihoon’s voice was laced with worry. It was his job to protect and take care of Jinyoung, yet he was too busy trying not to let his jealousy consume him to notice if the other had fallen ill. 

”No, but there’s something I need to pick up.” Rather than relief, Jihoon was filled with confusion. If he wasn't sick then why would he need to pick something up? He followed behind Jinyoung as he opened the heavy wooden doors and walked inside. Unlike the cold, bright drugstores that Jihoon was used to, this one was warm and inviting. The pharmacist (Jihoon wasn't quite sure what to call him) cheerfully introduced himself as Sungwoon after bowing deeply to Jinyoung. Jinyoung had clearly made his request beforehand, Sungwoon just nodded and began working without Jinyoung having to ask. Jihoon was left to wander around, and that he did. The warm atmosphere of the building was comforting, and the smell of herbs permeated the air. Jihoon’s worry from earlier had completely dissipated, something about the apothecary comforted him. After about 10 minutes, Jinyoung called him over and handed him a small mug of steaming liquid. 

”What’s this?” Jihoon was a bit apprehensive to drink unknown things after an immature prank from Woojin resulted in him drinking apple cider vinegar. 

”It’s an herbal tea. I noticed that you’ve been acting strangely lately and I thought this would help.” A slight blush dusted Jinyoung’s cheeks as he gave his explanation. Jihoon thought back, had he been acting weird? He thought he had been acting perfectly normal, but apparently, Jinyoung thought otherwise. That, or Jinyoung knew him better than he anticipated, which scared him. He brought the mug to his lips and sipped the liquid, his body filling with warmth. He wasn't sure what the tea was for, but he felt calmer than he had in weeks. 

”Thank you, Your Majesty.” he whispered, his gratitude not for the drink but for Jinyoung for caring enough to notice changes in his behaviour. 

”Anything for my precious valet.”

During the entire journey home, Jihoon suppressed his grin. He kept glancing over at Jinyoung and was always met with the latter’s eyes, which made it harder not to explode with giddiness. He kept replaying Jinyoung’s words in his head, over and over again. ”My precious valet;” the phrase caused a warmth to spread out from his chest and throughout his entire body. He was precious to Jinyoung, irreplaceable. The word crushed all his jealousy, filling him with nothing but affection for the young prince. He hoped that Jinyoung returned the affection as well. 

-

Back in the castle, the three had gone their separate ways. Jinyoung went to the library to study, Jieqiong had disappeared into one of the many rooms in the castle, and Jihoon aimlessly wandered the halls. With no specific goal, Jihoon soon found himself outside of the supposed storage room the queen had steered him away from. He tentatively put his hand on the doorknob and pushed the door open a crack, but pulled his hand back when he heard crying coming from inside. He hesitantly opened the door further, causing the hinges to creak. Whoever was in the room sharply silenced themselves. 

”H-hello?” Jihoon was met with an eerie silence. He peeked inside and could make out the same shadows from weeks prior, yet no silhouettes could be made out. Could it be a ghost? He was more of a skeptic when it came to the supernatural, but in another universe, anything could be possible. He ventured further into the room and closed the door behind him, his heart thumping in his ears and footsteps echoing throughout the darkness. 

”Leave,” a whisper escaped a nearby shadow of furniture, ”please just leave.”

”Who is it?” Jihoon felt along the wall for a light switch or window, any source of light he could find. His hand brushed against a curtain and he pulled it open, the evening sun coating the room in a golden glow. The sunlight glinted off the gold in Jieqiong’s dress, the fleeting sparkle a contrast to the shine from the tears streaming down her face. She sat on the floor with her knees pulled to her chest, crouched behind a small object of furniture covered by a sheet, like everything else in the room. Rather than her usual regal, cold attitude, she looked absolutely broken. Jihoon knew he couldn't comfort her the same way he comforted Jinyoung if he wanted to keep his arms intact, so he sat across from her and stared into her eyes. Mirroring her position, he sat in silence, waiting for her to talk instead of him. Sitting there and listening to her ragged breathing, he felt a dry melancholy grow in his chest. The seemingly missing part of his heart filled with sympathy for her; as much as she made him uncomfortable, seeing her reduced to a pathetic, sniffling mess didn't seem right. 

”Why didn't you leave when I asked?” Her voice was much different from her usual commanding tone, now it was monotone and lifeless. 

”Because you're crying.”

”So what? It's not your job to care about me.” 

”Yet I’m here anyway. Why are you crying?”

”You.” Her reply was like a blow to the chest, winding him. He knew she didn't like him but he wasn't aware it was to that extent.

”I’ll leave then.” He didn't mean for his voice to be as biting as it was, but he couldn't control his hurt. Before he could get up to leave, Jieqiong’s cold hand gripped his wrist. 

”Not like that. Let me explain first.” Her voice wavered, but her eyes were filled with a steely determination. Jihoon relaxed slightly and stared at her, beckoning for her to continue. She averted her gaze to the floor and spoke so low that Jihoon could barely hear her.

”You love Jinyoung, don’t you?” Jihoon was taken aback. He felt like his brain was malfunctioning trying to think of a response, his mouth opening and closing like a puppet. Jieqiong laughed dryly. ”Let’s pretend you answered that. I see the way you two look at each other. I can’t help but be jealous, you two get to see each other every day.” She paused, her eyes remaining downcast. 

”What do you mean?”

”I have someone at home, but I don’t get to see her like you two do. She was falsely accused of a crime and is in the palace dungeons, sentenced to death.” Her voice caught on the last word, and her body shook with sobs. Jihoon was at a loss for words. He couldn't picture being separated like that, from anyone, but especially from someone he loved. Especially from Jinyoung. 

”What’s her name?”

”Nayoung. Im Nayoung. I met her years ago when I visited here and she decided to come back with us. She’s my best friend, I just happened to fall in love with her too.” At this point, Jieqiong was talking through her tears. Jihoon felt her sadness when their eyes met and he pulled her into a hug. She froze and pulled away, staring back at him with a ”what the hell did you just do?” look in her eyes. She did her best to wipe her tears, but her face was still red and puffy as she ran out of the room. Jihoon stared after her, bewildered for a moment before he followed her into the hallway. As he opened the door, he almost ran straight into Jinyoung’s father. Jihoon was caught in the king’s steely glare, and at that moment fear coursed through his veins and he froze in spot. Everything felt like slow motion as he felt the king’s hand grip his wrist and drag him down the hallway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay in updates, this fic isnt dead i promise (just the author is heh)!! i hope it doesnt disappoint, sorry if it does


	8. Love, Defined

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back to unbeta’d as usual

_When Jieqiong first met Jinyoung, she also met Nayoung. Nayoung was a few years older than Jieqiong, and was one of the maids in training in the Kingdom of Korea. Jieqiong was eight years old at the time, young and innocent and just looking for a friend as she wandered this strange new palace. This was to be her home in ten years’ time, might as well explore it at an early age. As she ran through the halls, her foot caught on one of the tiles. Before she could hit the floor, she landed in a warm pair of arms and was lifted to her feet. Her eyes met with her saviour’s, and this mysterious girl was perhaps the most beautiful person she had ever seen. Jieqiong was speechless, the girl’s beauty enchanting her._

_“Hi,” she whispered, “I’m Nayoung. And you are?” Jieqiong scrambled to a standing position, her cheeks growing red._

_“I’m P-princess Jieqiong.” She tried to sound authoritative, but her nervous stutter ruined that. However, Nayoung laughed and her face lit up, which warmed Jieqiong’s heart._

_“So you’re the princess Jinyoung has to marry? Ah, good luck, I heard he can be difficult sometimes.”_

_“I don’t wanna marry him,” Jieqiong pouted and crossed her arms, “I’d rather marry you. You’re much prettier.”_

_-_

_Jieqiong managed to convince her parents to transfer Nayoung from Korea to China as a maid. What she had thought was mere admiration blossomed into love over the years, at 15 she would confidently say that Nayoung was the love of her life. Of course, everyone thought she was joking, including Nayoung herself. However, Jieqiong remained unphased. She was determined to show Nayoung that she was serious. At 16, her wishes were answered. When Nayoung took her to the castle roof and kissed her, her world exploded into fireworks of joy. It was the happiest she had ever been in her 16 years of life, her efforts had paid off. However, due to the marriage, their relationship was limited to stolen glances and hidden kisses. Despite the seclusion of their love, they were happy. They had each other, that's all they needed._

_-_

_When Jieqiong was 17, the crown jewels disappeared, presumably stolen. The palace was scoured, torn apart, from top to bottom in search of the missing items. Amidst the search, part of the stolen jewels was found in the maid’s quarters - near Nayoung’s area of the small room. Jieqiong burned with rage upon the discovery, as Nayoung had been with her the night the crime occurred. The false accusation tore them apart - Nayoung being held in a temporary cell until a proper trial could be held. Jieqiong felt just as trapped as her lover, not being able to defend Nayoung as she was the only one who knew where Nayoung truly was that night, as well as the admission of her and Nayoung’s relationship risking further prosecution for Nayoung. A week went by being separated from Nayoung, and Jieqiong firmly decided that the emptiness that came with it was the worst feeling in the world. When the time came for the trial, Jieqiong couldn't bear to watch. Yet, as the princess, she was forced to. It took all her strength to suppress her tears as the verdict was announced - guilty. It took all her strength to suppress her screams as the sentencing was announced - sentenced to two years in prison followed by death, as guards around the vault where the crown jewels were held were found dead. From her seat on the balcony above the courtroom, Jieqiong desperately tried and failed to make eye contact with Nayoung. As Nayoung was dragged out of the courtroom, Jieqiong felt as if her heart was taken too._

_-_

Jihoon scraped his knees on the marble floor as the king threw him down. Choosing to remain silent out of fear, he squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for some sort of strike. When the strike didn't come, he tentatively opened his eyes and looked up to see the king’s frame towering over him. Jihoon cowered in fear, wanting nothing more than to fold in on himself. The king began pacing back and forth, the click of his shoes on the marble echoing throughout the deafening silence. Every step caused Jihoon to flinch. Suddenly, a hand was on Jihoon’s, pulling him away while the king’s back was turned. Jihoon blindly followed while the king’s angry shouts followed him. He soon heard heavy footsteps behind them, chasing after them.

“GO FASTER, YOU IDIOT!” Jihoon was too scared to bother with formalities, yet his saviour obliged and sped up. Jihoon looked up for the first time and saw dark hair and a familiar tall stature. As they ran down the hallways, Jihoon was pulled into an unfamiliar wing of the castle. The running suddenly halted and Jihoon went crashing into Guanlin’s back. Jihoon opened his mouth to speak but Guanlin hushed him, listening for footsteps. Jihoon’s heart was too loud in his ears for him to hear anything, but he trusted Guanlin when he told him that there was none. He let Guanlin lead him to a door that he recognized as the maid’s quarters. Jihoon had never seen the west wing in daylight, only the faint light that came from the wall fixtures or the darkness. The sunlight poured through the windows, bathing the wide hallway in a golden hue. Guanlin opened the wooden door to the room that was the maid’s quarters, the small room giving a whole different feeling than the rest of the castle. It was small but seemingly cozy and out of harm’s way, like nothing bad would ever happen here. Jihoon followed Guanlin inside and noticed Seonho sitting in the corner, the younger boy waving enthusiastically when his eyes met Jihoon’s. Jihoon gave him a small, tentative wave in return and lowered his gaze. His heart still pounding and hands still shaking, Jihoon tried to focus on what Guanlin was telling him.

“The king rarely comes to this end of the castle, so you shou-”

“Sorry, but can I sit down?” Jihoon interrupted, “I feel like my legs are going to buckle underneath me.” Guanlin nodded in understanding and led Jihoon to one of the nearby beds, letting him sit down and process what had just happened. What _would_ the king have done if Guanlin hadn't been there? Jihoon shuddered at the ideas he got. Part of him was a little disappointed that Jinyoung hadn't saved him, but hey, a save is a save and he was more thankful than disappointed that his body parts were all intact instead of… alternative options. Another thought popped into his head, why had Guanlin been there in the first place? Was it mere coincidence? Once his heart rate returned to regular, Jihoon dropped the question.

“What were you doing back there?” Guanlin looked down and scratched the back of his head.

“The truth is, I was looking for you. You’ve been avoiding me like the plague - yes, I noticed. Don’t play dumb. Did I do something wrong?” Jihoon stole a glance at him, and _God_ was he similar to the other Guanlin. _Dumbass,_ Jihoon thought, _they're literally the same person. Of course they're similar. But are they?_ There was one way to find out, but Jihoon was unsure if he _really_ wanted to go there.

“I-” Jihoon looked down at his lap, nervously playing with his hands. He took a deep breath and looked back at Guanlin. “Kiss me.” Guanlin stared at him, eyes wide.

“Pardon?”

“You heard me. Kiss me.” He looked from Jihoon to Seonho to Jihoon and back to Seonho. He seemed to be asking Seonho something with his eyes, to which Seonho shrugged and looked away. Returning his gaze to Jihoon, Guanlin sighed at Seonho’s coldness. Guanlin placed his hands on Jihoon’s shoulders and pulled him forward until their lips met. This Guanlin didn't kiss Jihoon with the same intensity as the other Guanlin, yet Jihoon found himself kissing back. The door creaked open and Jinyoung’s distraught voice interrupted the moment.

“Jihoon?!” The boy in question snapped his head around to catch Jinyoung running back down the hallway. Forgetting his fear of the king intercepting him, Jihoon took off at full speed after Jinyoung.

-

Jinyoung didn't know why he was jealous, but it was quickly eating him alive. He ran faster than he’d ever ran before, wanting nothing more than to be as far from Jihoon as possible. Warm tears started cascading down his face, and he roughly wiped them away with his sleeve as he ran. Bypassing his own bedroom, he ducked into the dark room nearby, quietly shutting the door behind him. Sliding down the door, he felt as if his own jealousy and hurt was choking him, making it hard to breathe. He exhaled to try and calm his nerves, and it came out as a choked cough. Amidst his coughing, he managed to choke out somewhat of a prayer.

“Seongwoo hyung, I think I’ve fallen for someone, just like you. Will I end up how you did too?” Jinyoung froze and slapped a hand over his mouth when he heard someone softly knock on the door.

“Your Majesty?”

-

Guanlin dumbly stared out the open door. Jihoon still hadn’t answered his question, and the interaction left him even more confused than before. He brought his hand up to his lips, still a little baffled that Jihoon had even asked for a kiss in the first place when he clearly cared about Jinyoung to chase after him.

“That’s what you get for being a bad kisser.” Seonho mumbled from his corner. Guanlin tore his eyes from the now empty hallway and turned to stare at Seonho.

“If you’re jealous then just say so.”

“Pfft, like I’d be jealous.” Seonho started turning red and refused to look at Guanlin. The latter smiled to himself and walked over, plopping himself down next to Seonho in an unrefined way.

“Okayyy, maybe I am a little jealous,” Seonho whispered to him, slipping his hand into Guanlin’s and intertwining their fingers.

“Now why would you think that when you know how much I love you?” Guanlin giggled before planting a kiss on Seonho’s forehead.

-

Jihoon knocked again, a bit harder than before. He looked around to make sure no one would hear him, and called out to Jinyoung again.

“Jinyoung, I know you’re in there. Please open the door.” Jihoon heard a frantic scramble come from inside the room, and the door opened a crack. He quietly stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. The curtain he had opened earlier was closed, filling the room with shadows. One of the said shadows had sniffles coming from it, so Jihoon guessed it was Jinyoung and crouched down beside him. Reaching out a hand, he rubbed small circles on Jinyoung’s back until the younger looked up at him.

“Why?” The hurt in Jinyoung’s voice shattered Jihoon’s heart, he wanted nothing more than to pour out all his feelings right then and there. But, Jinyoung deserved an explanation.

“Before I came here, back in my school I met my dimension’s Guanlin. He confessed to me not even a full 24 hours before I arrived here. After confessing to me, he kissed me, and I needed to confirm something.” Jinyoung grew rigid under his touch and he feared he had misspoken.

“So when you said you’ve never had a lover, you lied? Were you just trying to lead me on?” Hate laced Jinyoung’s voice, cutting into Jihoon like a knife. Jihoon didn’t know what to say, so instead he embraced Jinyoung.

“I promise, Jinyoung, I promise I was never trying to lead you on.” He held onto Jinyoung as he cried, hoping that his actions communicated what his words couldn’t.

“Jihoon,” Jinyoung whispered against his neck, “did my father do anything to you?”

“No, Guanlin grabbed me before anything could happen. But it would probably be best for you to get rid of me, he hates me.” Jihoon didn’t think it was possible to be hurt by one’s own words, yet the suggestion was digging.

“No.” Jinyoung’s voice was quiet but full of determination.

“Why? It’s not worth it.” He felt his back collide with the rough wall as Jinyoung straddled his legs. He wasn’t crying anymore. “Jinyoung, wh-” Jihoon was cut off by Jinyoung’s lips against his own. The kiss was awkward and messy and intense and everything a first kiss shouldn't be, but Jihoon liked it. Jinyoung pulled away and cupped Jihoon’s face with his hands, his gaze piercing Jihoon even in the dark.

“ _You’re_ worth it.”


End file.
